Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $226,000 Investment in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 743 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the first quarter worth $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 32.3% in the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $69,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MCD shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $315.69.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD traded up $1.86 during trading on Friday, reaching $316.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,531,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,356,786. The company has a market capitalization of $228.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $294.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $273.73. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.18.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $727,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,550. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $727,260.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,550. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $2,833,755.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,193,080. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,221,233. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About McDonald’s

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.